Featured Guest Blogger: Lyle Denniston

The Mind’s War Wounds…and the Constitution

In the annals of crime in America, the murders that George Porter, Jr., committed in Florida in October 23 years ago were tragically commonplace. A stormy relationship between a man and his live-in girlfriend, spiraling downward into threats, the man departs then returns to stalk the woman, his mood darkens, he steals a gun, spends a night drinking, and then he murders, twice. First, the former girlfriend is shot dead, then her new boyfriend is gunned down. The killer is tried and convicted of both killings and gets the death penalty for one, life in prison for the other.

What Does the Constitution Look Like?

I have often wondered what the Constitution looks like. Not the written document. We have seen that, and the florid graphic of "We, the people..." from the preamble is an iconic image persistently displayed throughout our history. But I mean, what does the Constitution really look like? Four years ago, when we began the Peter Jennings Project, I had contemplated having a photo exhibit accompany our annual event at the National Constitution Center in February -- pictures from the year's journalism that demonstrated constitutional principles at work. I still hope that we will one day do that.

How the First Amendment Shapes Americans' Personalities

Thanks to Tracey O'Connor, an Australian-American friend, for pointing me to an interesting piece in last Sunday's New York Times Book Review. You can read it here. There, British novelist Geoff Dyer writes admiringly of Americans' hospitality, generosity, and relative good humor when compared to his own countrymen's national sneer. I'll let you read Dyer's essay and comment on your own, but do take note of this excerpt for its nod to how the Constitution informs our frame of mind: